


Watershed

by thebaddestwolf



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: F/M, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, multi chapt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-22
Updated: 2015-04-24
Packaged: 2018-03-25 06:54:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3801001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebaddestwolf/pseuds/thebaddestwolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The last time Jeff spent significant time alone with Annie they’d had their talk -- the one about discretion -- and now here they were, basically going on a lengthy outdoor date. One where they’d be working up a sweat. In a place that was meaningful to her. Crap.</p><p>Set in early season 2.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> beta: the wonderful tkross

Jeff always assumed the next time it happened would be one of those pivotal watershed moments -- one he saw coming a mile away, the pressure building and building until giving in was inevitable -- the proverbial dam bursting.

He never in a million years would’ve guessed he’d be kneeling in front of her in the dirt, hand sliding past her bloodied knee.

Or that, instead of a dam, it’d be a quarry.

***

Annie brought it up one day after Anthropology as they began to take their seats in the study room. Jeff narrowed his eyes as she floated the idea with that faux-nonchalance he’d come to recognize from her -- sing-song voice and shoulder shrugs masking her plan’s importance.

There was this hiking trail leading to a beach, she said, except the beach was more of a cliff and the lake actually a flooded quarry, a scenic ledge that she and her cousins used to leap from each summer until her nervous breakdown and subsequent trip to rehab led to cut family ties.

“But the city is closing it at the end of the season because some knucklehead drank one too many and bounced off the side of the cliff on his way down. Way to ruin it for the rest of us, right?” She huffed and then her eyes grew wide as she noticed the way everyone was staring at her. “No no, you guys! He’s fine -- just broke a few bones or whatever. But the Parks Department decided it was too risky to keep the path open, despite a very thorough and engaging presentation I made to the City Council, so it’s only gonna be open for another week.”

Jeff crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair.

“And you’re telling us this why?”

Annie grinned and squared her shoulders.

“Well, I thought we could all go -- make a day of it this weekend.” The group collectively groaned and she deflated. “Well it’s just, my cousins don’t talk to me anymore but they were my only friends growing up. There are some happy memories there and, I dunno. I thought I could say goodbye and we could make some new ones, too.”

“Oh, sweetie,” Shirley said, rubbing Annie’s back. “I’d love to go, but the boys have church camp this weekend and I’m leading youth Bible study. But you’re welcome to join me.”

“Thanks, Shirley, but I’m Jewish, remember?”

“I’m sure we have an Old Testament lying around, somewhere. And, who knows, maybe you’ll hear something that will change your mind.”

“Umm…”

“Are there snakes?”

Annie smiled at Abed, grateful for the change of topic.

“What?”

“On the path. Are there snakes?”

“Um, I don’t think so.”

“Good,” he said, turning toward Troy. “Indie hates snakes. I’m in.”

“Alright!” Troy punched the air. “I knew we’d have another reason to wear our Indiana Jones costumes this year. Wait, should we be Raider of the Lost Ark Indie or Last Crusade Indie?”

“Easy. Last Crusade.”

“You’re _both_ going to be Indiana Jones? Gay.” Pierce rolled his eyes. “Besides, that doesn’t make sense -- there can’t be two Indies. Say, did I ever tell you about the time Harrison Ford and I crashed that Mexican birthda-”

“YES!” everyone groaned.

Pierce scowled, muttering something under his breath, and opened his notebook. “Actually, Pierce makes a good point.” Abed tilted his head and raised a finger. “There can’t be two Indies. But maybe one of us is _evil_.” “Awesome,” Troy said. He and Abed grinned at each other and did their best friends handshake.

“Hey, wait a minute.” Britta crossed her arms. “You two promised to watch my cats this weekend -- I’m going out of town and they need constant supervision. In fact, I was going to ask you to come over on Friday night so we can review their medication schedule.”

“Ugh, right,” Troy said, hanging his head. “We forgot.”

Abed frowned. “Sorry Annie.”

“It’s okay.” She shrugged and fiddled with her pen. “I know it’s last minute. Pierce?”

He was scribbling in his notebook and didn’t seem to hear her. Everyone turned to Jeff, who was apparently in charge of getting Pierce’s attention.

“Lesbians,” he muttered without looking up from his phone.

“What!” Pierce jolted and looked around. “Where?”

“Pierce, did you want to go hiking this weekend?” Annie asked.

“Oh. No, I can’t,” he said, pouting at the lack of lesbians. “I’m dating this new woman and you wouldn’t believe the things she does in b--”

“NO!” everyone shouted. Annie, Shirley, and Troy covered their ears.

“Fine,” Pierce said. “I was going to educate you on some little-known Kama Sutra positions that would probably come in handy for the ladies. And you, Britta. But hey, your loss.”

“Ugh, Pierce. Gross.”

Britta threw a ball of paper at him, which somehow wound up smacking Abed in the face. Annie pouted and pulled her cardigan closed over her chest, turning away from Pierce’s leer and angling herself toward the one person who hadn’t RSVP’d to her proposal.

Jeff leaned forward and flipped his textbook open to a random page, pretending to be completely engrossed in the basket-weaving traditions of Mesopotamia. He steeled himself as he felt Annie’s gaze on him.

“Jeff…” she started, voice soft and tentative. Damn it. “Are you busy, too?”

He frowned and looked up, ready to tell her the first made-up plan that came to mind, but her eyes were glossy and doing that thing where they flutter but never actually close. Her lip was quivering too, or at least it would be if she wasn’t biting it.

“I-”

He paused, lie catching in his throat, because he hadn’t even told her no yet and she turned away, chin falling to her chest. Something inside him snagged, then, because, while he could write a 20-page essay on why he and Annie shouldn’t be alone together, he hated that she expected him to let her down.

“I’m not, actually,” he said, surprising himself as much as the rest of the group, who gaped at him.

“Really?” Annie clasped her hands together, voice shrill. “So you’ll go hiking with me?”

“Sure, whatever.” He glanced at her, smiling in spite of himself at the joy on her face, then dropped his eyes back to the textbook. “So long as you do all the planning. And there better be cell reception.”

“I will! And there is!” Even from his peripheral vision Jeff could see her bouncing in her seat. “Oh Jeff, we’re gonna have so much fun. I promise.”

“You two can borrow my whip,” Abed said. Pierce and Britta snickered.

“Alright, enough chit chat.” Jeff glared at everyone and tried not to think about why Annie’s cheeks were pink. “Let’s study.”

***

As the weekend neared Jeff tried to think up a way out of the hiking trip, but every time he convinced himself to call it off Annie would beat him to it and ask if he was sure he could go. Something about that -- about her _doubting_ him -- only strengthened his resolve and he assured her time and again.

And so he found himself driving out of her sketchy neighborhood just before noon on Saturday, wishing he’d downed a second espresso shot as she chirped about her plans from the passenger seat. Jeff made all the appropriate responses as she prattled on but his mind was elsewhere -- specifically parked in front of her building a few moments ago when she’d come bounding down the steps in ridiculously short shorts and a white tank top, with a purple swimsuit string tied into a tantalizing bow at the back of her neck.

He’d totally forgotten that today would involve swimming and, with that, Annie in what was likely to be a very tiny bikini. A purple one, apparently. With little strings.

Jeff tightened his grip on the steering wheel and shook his head, trying to erase the image Etch-a-Sketch style. It didn’t work.

“...snacks, water, a first aid kit, towels, sunblock, and a compass -- you know, just in case.”

“Do you ever go anywhere without your backpack?”

“Duh, of course. But we’re going hiking -- that’s a perfectly normal activity to use a backpack for, Jeff.”

“My mistake. I’m no hiking expert.”

“Well obviously -- oh get on the freeway here -- you’re not even dressed appropriately. Jeans and a button down? You’re gonna get hot.”

“I’ll be fine -- this is very breathable fabric,” he said, pucking the material of the shirt. The very expensive shirt, he might add. “How long is this trail, anyway?”

“Oh, not that long.”

He waited for her to elaborate but she only glanced at him and leaned forward to change the radio station.

“Why do I get the impression you’re being deliberately vague?”

“I’m not! It’s much shorter than the other ones in this park.”

“How long, Annie?”

“I don’t know…” She wrung her hands together. “Maybe five, six miles? But it flies by! And it’s mostly flat, I swear!” Jeff could practically feel her fixing him with her Disney Princess gaze and kept his eyes on the road. “Oh, this exit, then take a left.”

Jeff sighed as he turned off the freeway and began following signs for the park, more convinced than ever that this was an exceptionally bad idea. The last time he’d spent significant time alone with Annie they’d had their talk -- the one about discretion -- and now here they were, basically going on a lengthy outdoor date. One where they’d be working up a sweat. In a place that was meaningful to her.

Crap.

He parked the car near the path entrance and got out to read the bright yellow “CAUTION!” notices posted on the sign while Annie triple checked the contents of her backpack.

“Hey, can you help me with something?”

She was bunching her hair into a ponytail, making her tank top ride up and expose the skin above her hips. Jeff swallowed and walked over to her.

“I couldn’t reach my back and I burn really easily,” she said, turning away from him and handing him the sunblock. “Do you mind?”

She glanced over her shoulder and gave him a sweet little smile as he squirted a dollop onto his palm and began to work the cream into her skin, totally not reveling in the fruity scent of her shampoo or the way she seemed to relax under his touch.

Her head fell forward and he’d swear he heard her sigh as he pressed his thumbs into her muscles and slid them along her spine. She seemed so fragile and small compared to his hands, and that realization served as a reminder for all the reasons he shouldn’t be thinking about her like he was right now.

Jeff couldn’t help but pluck the red string on her neck when he was done and she giggled.

“Thanks,” she said, turning back around. “Need me to do you?”

“No, I- No. I’m fine.”

“You sure?” Her brow knit together as she eyed him. “You should at least get your face and neck -- your skin’s fair, too.”

“Fine. Gimme.”

He squeezed more sunblock onto his hands and rubbed them over his face. Annie laughed.

“You missed a spot,” she said and stepped closer, stroking just under his ear. “Actually, you missed a lot of spots.”

She reached for his face with her other hand but Jeff backed away and began stalking toward the path.

“It’ll all blend in eventually,” he said. “Better get going -- if I’m not at Lucky’s by 8 o’clock they take the ‘reserved’ sign off my favorite bar stool.”

He heard a huff, followed by her quick footsteps as she jogged to catch up with him.

“Jeff, wait up. You don’t even know the way!”

“Please, how hard can it be?”

Annie fixed him with a self-satisfied smile about 20 feet into the woods when the path diverged into five different trails. Jeff sighed and motioned for her to lead on.

Gripping the straps of her backpack, she skipped ahead of him and set off on the third trail to the right, her ponytail swaying with every step. He followed at a safe distance, doing his best to keep his eyes trained on the scenery and definitely not where her shorts met her thighs.

Maybe he needed to have the discretion talk with himself.

***

Barely two miles down the path and Jeff had already decided he was going to send a lengthy and detailed email complaint to his shirt manufacturer, or at least a nasty tweet. He’d rolled up the sleeves, unbuttoned the top four buttons, and was still sweltering. Breathable his ass.

“What are you grumbling about back there?” Annie stopped and appraised him, hand on hip.

“We couldn’t have gone hiking on a day it _wasn’t_ 90 degrees?”

“Oh please, it’s not my fault you’re in, like, a million layers. Besides, it can’t be above 80.”

She unzipped her backpack and tossed him a water bottle, which was somehow still cool. Was that backpack of hers insulated? He guessed he wouldn’t be surprised. Jeff pressed the plastic to the side of his neck before unscrewing the top and taking several long gulps.

“Thanks,” he said, handing it back to her.

“Feel better?”

“For now.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Just take your shirt off.”

“What? No.”

“Oh come on, we’re not even halfway there and you’re already complaining. I know you have an undershirt on underneath so it’s not like you’ll be _exposed_.”

He narrowed his eyes at her and began to undo the remaining buttons on his shirt.

“At least one of us won’t be exposed,” he said in spite of himself, nodding toward her shorts.

She smirked and straightened her back.

“You’re just jealous I’m dressed appropriately for the weather.” She held out her hand for his shirt. “Here, I’ll put it in my backpack. Ew, it’s sweaty.”

They continued on and Jeff was grateful when the path widened, allowing him to walk beside her and eliminating the temptation to ogle her from behind. He was actually able to enjoy the beauty of the woods now that he wasn’t at risk of overheating, not that he’d ever admit it.

“You haven’t been hiking before, have you?” Annie asked when they ran out of Greendale gossip.

“What gave me away?”

“I can smell your cologne.”

“...So?”

“Insects are attracted to strong scents! That’s hiking 101.”

“Is that a course at Greendale?”

“Don’t think so, but I wouldn’t put money on it.” Annie laughed and flashed him a bright smile that absolutely didn’t make his stomach bottom out. “And don’t worry, I have bug spray if you need it.”

“Thanks.”

“But seriously. You didn’t even go to parties in the woods, like, back in high school? Or did they not do that back then?”

“Oh please, like your generation invented drinking around a fire. Pretty sure that’s been happening since the cavemen.” He beamed at her, smiling even wider as her eyes shot daggers his way. “Nah, I never liked the great outdoors much. My dad signed me up for Boy Scouts but he left, like, two months later, so I quit. Never made it to the camping trip.”

Woah, where did that come from? Jeff’s mind reeled as they walked in easy silence for a moment, twigs and leaves crunching under their shoes. He’d never even consciously put that together before -- his negative association with the woods as relates to his daddy issues.

He glanced at Annie, who was biting her lip and absently fiddling with the strap on her backpack. Jeff couldn’t help but smile; she always had a knack for bringing out his tragic origin story.

“Well, the uniform probably wasn’t Jeff Winger style, anyway,” she said, steering them back to safer ground. “I was in Girl Scouts until high school -- got almost every badge.”

“Hah, of course you did.”

“You laugh, but it’s a big achievement to put on college applications.”

“Mhm, and look at you now.”

He grinned at her, grateful for the comfort of their usual banter.

“Hey!” She jabbed a finger toward his ribs but he dodged her. “I’d be nicer to the person guiding you through the forest if I were you.”

“Don’t get all self important on me, Edison. I could find my way back to the car, no problem.”

Annie stepped in front of him and stopped abruptly, blocking his path. Jeff stumbled and had to grab her shoulders to steady himself so they both wouldn’t go toppling over.

“What the hell!”

He glared at her, grip tightening on her arms. Her lips inched upward in a smirk and Jeff swallowed as her gaze drifted to his lips. While he was distracted she must’ve squeezed her hands between them because suddenly they were on his chest, pushing him away.

“Close your eyes,” she said.

“What?”

“Just do it.”

“Oookay.”

Jeff rolled his eyes before he closed them, then flinched when he felt her hands exerting pressure on his elbow and his back. After a moment he caught on that she was trying to turn him so he indulged her, biting back a smile as she spun him around a few times.

“Alright,” she said. “You can open them.” He blinked into the afternoon sunlight and raised his eyebrows at the smug look on her face. “Find your way back now.”

He fixed her with his best unimpressed look and pointed behind him. “It’s that way.”

Annie made a high-pitched scoff.

“Oh come on, give me some credit -- you turned me around but you didn’t move! And you were facing the way we came, so…”

She crossed her arms and continued on down the path. “Whatever. Just remember I have the water. And your dumb expensive shirt.”

Jeff chuckled and caught up with her in two strides.

“Noted.”

***

Annie’s silent treatment lasted for all of 90 seconds, when she spotted a bird that looked freakishly like Abed and handed Jeff her phone to snap a photo because she said his height gave him a better angle.

Once the photo was posted on Facebook and Twitter she was chatting up a storm again, telling him all about her plans to move to a better neighborhood and fretting that she was developing carpal tunnel syndrome from all the notes she had to take in her hospital administration class.

Jeff wanted to tell her that she was drowning out the sounds of nature with her endless babbling, but decided to keep it to himself because, well, talking with her was kind of nice. He was beginning to realize that beneath the surface of her girlish giggles and overuse of “like” as a filler word there was a brave, mature woman who was struggling to rise after life knocked her down.

It was when she was lamenting her laundromat’s new tamper-proof washing machines that he realized she had no one else to talk to; no high school friends to share college stories with, no mom to call when she’d had a bad day.

A pang of sympathy coursed through his chest when it finally hit him. She only had the study group.

But then again, so did he.

This revelation was still sinking in when he heard a crunch and a yelp and suddenly Annie wasn’t beside him anymore. For a second he thought the earth had swallowed her up, but then he noticed she’d fallen into a trap of some sort -- one of those holes in the ground someone concealed with a layer of sticks and leaves.

He ran to the edge and knelt down, heart pounding when he saw her in a crumpled heap at the bottom. The hole wasn’t very deep -- four feet, tops -- but his pulse was racing like she’d toppled off a cliff.

“Annie! Are you alright?”

She groaned and looked up at him, brushing leaves out of her hair.

“Yeah,” she said, a little sheepishly. “High school kids like to make these to catch unsuspecting hikers. I forgot.”

“That’s ridiculous -- and a lawsuit waiting to happen. Someone could break their ankle,” he growled, fear boiling into rage. “Does anything hurt?”

“No, I’m fine.” She stood and reached for him. “Give me a hand?”

He gripped her forearms and hoisted her out, and started to help her brush the bramble from her shorts until he realized he probably shouldn’t. He stood there as she dusted off, feeling pretty useless, until he realized how hard she was trying not to frown.

“I thought those sort of traps only existed in cartoons,” he said, watching her face. “Are you sure we haven’t wandered into Abed’s subconscious?”

Annie straightened and looked at him, trace of a smile on her lips. Well, that was a start.

“I wish,” she said. “Would you believe that’s not the first time I’ve fallen into one of those?”

“Actually… yes.”

She jabbed her finger toward his ribs and he let her poke him.

“At least you’re the only one who saw, this time.”

She smiled at him, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. Jeff couldn’t help but reach out to smooth a smear of dirt from her cheek.

“Annie…”

His hand stayed on her cheek as he stepped closer, heart hammering in his chest again. She blinked up at him, brow knit in question, and at least her eyes weren’t sad anymore. “Oh, shoot.”

Jeff balked, feeling disoriented as the moment -- whatever it meant -- was pulled out from under him. He let his hand drop as Annie took a step back and looked down at her legs.

“I’m bleeding.”

“Holy shit.” He stared at the scrapes on both her knees, feeling woozy as a drop of blood trailed down her left shin. “How did you not feel that until now?”

“Well they hurt, I just didn’t realize it was that bad,” she said, as if her skin getting sliced open was a thing that happened every day. “Jeff… are you okay? You don’t look so good.”

“I’m fine.” He took a deep breath and trained his eyes on the ground near her shoes. “Why are you being so calm about this?”

He didn’t realize how hysterical he must have sounded until she giggled. At least he made her laugh, though this wasn’t his preferred method.

“It’s just a few cuts. Hardly life threatening.”

“But… all the blood.”

“Please, girls see blood all the time. And I thought all those violent video games you play with Troy and Abed are supposed to desensitize you.” She laughed again and looped her arm through his, guiding him down the path. “Come on, there’s a rock just ahead where we can sit down.”

***

Annie suggesting he sit with his head between his knees is what made him finally come to his senses.

The rock they’d settled on was flat and smooth and, from it, Jeff got his first glimpse of the quarry. It was breathtaking to see the jagged man-made cuts in the stone offset by the blue-green beauty of the water. He got why Annie liked it so much.

“Good thing I brought my backpack, right?”

She quirked her eyebrows at him, digging inside for her first aid kit.

“I’m starting to think you fell into the hole on purpose just to prove a point.”

“Yeah, right.” She pulled out the kit and popped it open, then selected a packet of antibacterial ointment. “If that were the case I’d have pushed you in.”

“Hah, like that’d do anything -- that hole probably doesn’t even come up to my waist.”

“Oh yeah? We’ll try it on the way back. See what happens.”

Annie hissed as she dabbed the ointment onto her scrapes. When Jeff saw the tears in her eyes he took the packet and knelt in front of her.

“Here, let me.”

“Wait!”

He rolled his eyes as she squirted hand sanitizer into his palm. He placed the packet on his thigh as he rubbed his hands together aggressively while holding eye contact until she laughed and told him he could stop.

Then he cupped her right calf with one hand and applied the gel to her scrapes as quickly and gingerly as he could. She flinched at first but when he paused she told him to keep going, just get it over with. When he finished with her other knee she handed him two large bandaids, which he carefully placed over the worst of her cuts.

“There,” he said. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” She squeezed his shoulder and smiled, eyes level with his. “Thanks, Jeff.”

“Don’t mention it.”

He grinned at her and glanced down at his hand, still resting on her calf. There was some dried blood just below his thumb so he smoothed his fingers upward until he reached her thigh.

This -- this moment exactly -- is why he never should’ve gone on the damn hike. He was naive to think that they could get through a day together without the universe conjuring up some forced intimacy; he was naive to think that, when that situation arose, he could resist.

He chuckled to himself -- and he thought she was the naive one.

“You alright?”

“What?” He looked up at her again, and when he saw the way the sun was lighting up her face he wished he hadn’t.

“You kinda checked out. Is it the blood? Feeling lightheaded again?”

He shook his head. “It’s not the blood.”

Annie’s gaze fell to his lips as Jeff leaned forward, but she winced when his stomach pressed into her knees. He was about to apologize when she parted her legs and wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him in closer.

One hand cupped her cheek as the other slid further up her thigh, stopping only when he met the frayed hem of her shorts. Annie gasped as he traced the outline of the fabric and rested his forehead against hers.

He was biding time, trying to summon his last scrap of restraint, then he realized that was like trying to pull the ripcord after jumping out of a plane with a backpack.

An image of a skydiver wearing Annie’s blue Jansport filled his mind and he chuckled to himself.

“What’s so funny?” Her voice was breathy and her fingers curled into his neck.

“Everything,” he said, and then he kissed her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> beta: tkross :)
> 
> I realize the ending isn't super canon complaint, knowing what's to come in season 2. Let's just call this a bit of an AU. :)

Their talk about discretion hadn’t gone exactly as Jeff planned.

During the first week of summer break he ignored Annie’s texts in a pathetic attempt to put off the inevitable. He’d acted like a complete dick at the Transfer Dance -- there was no way around it -- and no one could make him own up to his wrongdoings like Annie Edison.

But when he was lying in bed hungover one morning, scrolling through Facebook on his phone, he saw that Annie and Britta had RSVP’d to Neil’s birthday cookout and remembered he had damage control to do.

It probably wasn’t the best idea to invite Annie to his apartment. At the time he thought it was the only way to make sure they weren’t seen together by other Greendale students; but once she was there, sitting on his couch in a little sundress and extra freckles on her nose, he realized he’d made an epic mistake.

“Discretion,” she repeated, narrowing her eyes.

“Uh huh.”

“Of everything that happened that night, do you really think _I’m_ the one you need to be worried about?”

Jeff scowled. “I hate when you do that.”

“Do what?”

“Ask questions like I already know the answer.”

She leaned forward and placed a hand on his knee.

“But _don’t_ you?”

“See? Stop doing that!”

He tried to glare at her but she was smiling brightly, clearly pleased with herself, and he could only roll his eyes.

“I won’t mention it to anyone, if that’s what you’re so worried about. Besides, I’m the one who kissed you, remember? I should be embarrassed.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t just have two women declare their love for you,” he said, trying not to focus on the warmth of her hand on his knee. “And you only kissed me the first time…”

“True. But I was the instigator -- more guilt lies with me. Like how if you start a riot you face more jail time than just your average riot participant.” 

“Well there’s a metaphor I’ve never heard before.”

“Shut up. You know what I mean.”

He did know what she meant, and it scared him. And he was starting to find the prospect of inciting a riot sexy, which was also alarming.

“Well, I guess we’re on the same page then,” he said. “Except I think we deserve equal jail time.”

Annie giggled. “You’d probably love jail -- more time to work on those abs.”

“First of all, I resent the implication that my abs need work.” He quirked an eyebrow at her, shielding his torso with a defensive hand. “And I don’t think you’d fare very well in jail -- you have fresh meat written all over you.”

She straightened and moved her hand back to her lap.

“Rehab is as close to jail as I ever want to get.” She kept her eyes on her hands, focused on pushing back her cuticles, and Jeff worried he’d taken the hypothetical too far. Then a sly smile spread across her face and she looked up at him. “So I’d make a run for it.”

“Oh yeah?” He shifted to face her, his knee touching hers. “Where would you go? Mexico?”

“Oh please. No, that’s so cliche. I’d go to Canada -- universal healthcare.”

Jeff laughed, shaking his head.

“Annie Edison, a fugitive. Oddly, I can kinda see it.”

“Right?” She leaned forward and gripped his arm. “I’ve thought about this a lot, actually -- I’d hitchhike north, always using a different name, and get kindly oldtimers in diners to buy all my meals. Then, once I get to Canada, I’ll find work as a farm hand -- milking cows or darning quilts or something -- and the farmer and his wife will eventually take me in as their own.”

“Wow. That’s the most romanticized version of being on the lam I’ve ever heard,” he said, and she smiled like it was a compliment. “When do you even have time to think of stuff like this?”

“Oh, I’m always running through wild hypotheticals at the gym, otherwise the elliptical gets sooo boring. You know like, living as a fugitive, surviving a zombie apocalypse, rescuing kittens from a burning skyscraper. The usual stuff.”

“Riiight.”

She sort of blushed and dropped her gaze to her hand on his arm, then slid her fingers down to his cuff and started fiddling with the button.

“I know… it’s dumb.”

“No it’s not,” he said. “Actually, it’s kind of adorable.” She smiled a bit but didn’t look him in the eye. “You know, I think even _I_ would get sick of working on my abs 24/7. Maybe I’ll make a run for it too.”

She glanced up at him and bit her lip.

“Where? To _Mexico_?”

Jeff shook his head. “I was thinking Canada. Heard they have good healthcare.”

Annie giggled and pressed her lips together and, in that moment, he completely forgot the reason he’d invited her over. All that mattered was that she was there, smiling up at him with her hand on his sleeve. And, for the first time all week, he didn’t hate himself.

“I guess the farmer and his wife could take us both in… They don’t have enough bedrooms, though -- we’d have to sleep in the hayloft.”

Jeff leaned closer and rested his hand on her neck. He rolled his eyes, but she didn’t notice because hers had fluttered closed. She smoothed her hands up his chest and he closed his eyes, too, as he nudged her nose with his.

“Annie, this is beginning to sound like the prologue of a trashy romance novel.”

“So?”

There’s no question that he kissed her first, this time. Riot inciter, Jeff Winger, in for 25 to life.

Her lips felt hot, like they were sunburnt, and he pressed his against hers more slowly and softly than he’d kissed anyone since the fifth grade. It was nice, he thought, soaking her in at an easy pace, seeing what made her gasp, feeling the indents of her ribs beneath his thumb.

He’d have been happy to kiss her like that forever if her gasps didn’t grow more substantial, breathy sighs turning to throaty, stifled moans. He pushed her back onto the cushions, then, half-covering her body with his, with their feet still on the floor.

His fingers were just inching under the hem of her dress when her cell phone rang. It was Abed -- she was late to pick him up for trivia night.

“Don’t worry, we don’t need another talk about discretion after this,” she said, halfway out the door. Her hair was tangled and her cheeks still flushed. “We just got swept up in the fantasy. It’s fine.”

Jeff nodded and smiled and then she was gone.

Swept up in the fantasy. Right.

***

Jeff had just started to ease his tongue past Annie’s lips when she turned her head and pushed him back with her hands on his chest. His skin was on fire; he wondered if he should’ve applied more sunblock.

“Wait, wait,” she panted. “We probably shouldn’t.”

“Right.” He blinked. “Uh, remind me why, exactly?”

“You always get weird after we make out or whatever,” she said, glancing away. “And I don’t want us to be weird -- we were just getting un-weird after the last time. Besides, we still have to hike all the way back to the car and I don’t want that to be weird either.”

“You just said ‘weird’ so many times that the word lost all meaning.”

Annie laughed and rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you can figure it out from context clues.”

“Yeah, I get the picture.”

It was then that Jeff realized he was still kneeling between her thighs. He cleared his throat and maneuvered so he was sitting next to her on the rock. Annie moved her knees back together and glanced down, fidgeting with a loose thread on the hem of her shorts.

“And I’m sorry about all the weirdness,” he said, staring out at the quarry. “It’s just, you’re-- things between us… it gets a little confusing, you know?” 

Through his peripheral vision Jeff could see her turn to look at him, probably smiling, but he didn’t trust himself to look. 

“I know. It’s confusing for me too.” She reached out to touch his knee but her fingers barely grazed him before she snatched them away. “And until we figure out whatever this,” she motioned between them “is, we probably shouldn’t… indulge it. Right?”

“Right.” He nodded, wondering if he sounded at all believable. “So. You’re pretty cut up -- do you want to head back or…”

“What? I don’t think so, mister.” Annie stood and dusted off her shorts before slinging her backpack over her shoulder and starting off down the trail. “We haven’t come all this way to not go to my favorite spot. Come on, we’re almost there.”

Jeff chuckled and caught up with her in three strides.

“Yes ma’am,” he said. “Just watch where you’re walking this time.”

***

Jeff was never more acutely aware of the fact that he was living in a cruel and unfeeling universe as he was five minutes later, when Annie bent over to push her shorts down her hips.

Her swimming spot had been just around the corner, through a thick grove of trees that kept it mostly hidden from the path. Across the quarry Jeff could see a few groups gathered by the water, swimming or just sitting in the sun, but they were so far away they couldn’t hear them.

“Are your swim shorts on under your jeans?”

“Huh?”

Jeff turned to her just as she gripped the bottom of her tank top and peeled it off her body, revealing the purple bikini, which, as it turned out, was speckled with gold polkadots. Well, either that or he was just seeing spots.

He allowed his eyes to rake down her form once, honing in on the little strings holding the bottoms closed at her sides, before training his vision on the tree behind her.

“What are you swimming in? Oh god, please don’t tell me you wear a speedo.”

“Pfft, of course not. Why would you think that?”

“Well, you have been watching a lot of soccer lately…”

“That’s just for appearances. Besides, I don’t have the glutes for a speedo.”

He smirked as her eyes landed on the area in question.

“I wouldn’t say that...” she muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing!”

Annie giggled and shoved her clothes into her backpack. Jeff kicked at the dirt, wondering how long he could keep stalling. How could he have forgotten swim trunks? He decided it was probably for the best because he most certainly couldn’t be trusted to stay afloat next to her while she was wearing _that_.

She turned back to him and crossed her arms, amplifying her cleavage -- how was that even possible? -- and leveling her gaze.

“You’re evading. Do you not know how to swim or something?”

“Yeah, right. I could swim laps around you, sweetheart.”

“Hah, I doubt it. And snarky sexist retorts are a level 10 Jeff Winger evasion tactic. Seriously, what’s the deal?”

Jeff groaned.

“I forgot we were going swimming. I didn’t bring a bathing suit.”

“So? Just swim in your underwear.”

“When my boxer briefs get wet they’re going to leave nothing to the imagination.”

Annie looked down at her body and then back at him.

“Hah,” he said. “Point taken. But no.”

“Jefffff,” she whined, eyes wide and sad. “I’m not swimming by myself. Pleaaase?”

He sighed and began taking off his clothes, shooting her a glare that did nothing to wipe the self-satisfied grin off her face. One day he’d learn to withstand her damn doe-eyed look, but today, with her in that bikini, he realized he had never stood a chance.

They left their clothes in a pile (Jeff’s crumpled, Annie’s neatly folded inside her backpack) and climbed down a rocky incline to reach the ledge. It wasn’t as high as he was anticipating -- maybe a six-foot drop -- and he stepped right up to the edge of the stone. He turned to Annie, ready for her to count to three, and found her standing back from the cliff with her brow knit in worry.

“It’s a lot higher than I remember,” she said, biting her thumbnail.

“What? It’s not that much higher than the diving board at school.”

“And, I mean, I probably shouldn’t get these bandaids wet.”

“Are you serious? You have, like, 100 more in the first aid kit. You’ll be fine.”

“I dunno…”

As she wrung her hands and slumped her shoulders it was like he could practically see the confidence drain out of her. Frowning, he stepped forward and grasped her arms.

“Annie, you’re the bravest person I know,” he said, holding her gaze. “You keep going after most others would’ve long given up, from supporting yourself after your family turned their backs to clinching the win for a lame and, let’s face it, meaningless college debate. And today you were so determined to make it here that you kept going after literally falling into a human trap. If anyone can face their fears and jump from a modest height into a condemned flooded quarry, it’s you.”

She smiled at him, pressing her lips together, and tilted her head from side to side.

“That reminds me of something my mom used to tell me,” she said.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“Whenever I wanted to do something just because other people were doing it, she’d put her hands on her hips and say, ‘Annie Edison, if all your friends jumped off a cliff would you do it too?’”

Jeff chuckled and stepped back, reaching for her hand. She took it, squeezing his fingers, and they walked back toward the ledge.

“And how would you answer that question today?”

Annie grinned at him.

“I’d say yes.”

He smiled back, bumping her shoulder with his own.

“Although,” he said. “I don’t think a six foot drop actually constitutes a cliff.”

“Don’t ruin it.”

“Sorry.”

They didn’t count to three -- not out loud anyway -- they just looked at each other as they bent their knees and leapt away from the edge. At their highest point Annie grinned at him -- this gleeful, frantic smile -- and his stomach dropped even before they began to freefall.

As they fell through the air Jeff thought, if he was a philosophical kind of man, he’d find a metaphor in this moment. But he wasn’t, so he just held her hand tighter as they plummeted into the lake.

They started laughing the second they bobbed back up to the surface, sucumbing to hysterics as they treaded water.

“That was amazing!” Annie beamed, brushing a few damp strands of hair out of her eyes. “Let’s do it again.”

They climbed back to the top and jumped again, then three more times, until they got tired of scrambling up the rocks. The sun blazed down on them as they floated on their backs in happy silence, Annie’s ankle hooked under Jeff’s so they wouldn’t drift apart.

“Jeff,” she said, after a while. “Can I ask you something?”

“While we’re young, Mao Zedong.”

She giggled, but then paused for so long he wondered if she forgot the question. When he turned to look at her she was staring back at him, her hair fanned out atop the water.

“Since you have such negative association with the woods and hiking and everything… why did you agree to come?”

Jeff turned his face back to the sun and closed his eyes, waiting for a convenient excuse to come to mind. When it didn’t -- something that kept happening all too often with her -- he decided to go with the truth.

“Because you asked.”

***

A little while later Annie realized they’d drifted pretty far from shore, so they raced back to the rocks and, sure enough, she beat him by a length. They weren’t ready to dry off just yet so they treaded water beneath a canopy of trees, enjoying the last of the afternoon sun.

After a moment Jeff realized he could touch the bottom, which he declared triumphantly, laughing as she pouted and struggled to stay afloat. He soon took pity on her and hooked an arm around her waist to pull her to him. She stiffened at first but then relaxed, draping an arm across his neck and snaking her leg around his.

They stayed like that for a while, partially entwined, and Annie eventually rested her cheek on his shoulder.

Jeff wondered what they must look like to the people across the quarry. The answer to that question made his heart speed up.

“Thanks Jeff,” she said, lips moving against his neck and knocking all coherent thought from his mind.

“For what?”

“For coming with me. And for making me jump.”

“Anytime.”

She hummed and then there was a soft press of her lips just above his collarbone. He shivered, fingers drifting to toy with the bow tied on her hip. Annie sighed and he let his fingers wander and trace the curve of her hipbone.

“I learned something about you today, you know,” he said.

“Hmm?”

“You were totally bluffing -- you’d never hypothetically run away to Canada.”

“What!” She leaned back and glared at him like he’d just bitten the head off her teddy bear. “Of course I would!”

“No way.” He chuckled. “You’re all talk. Almost chickened out of swimming today.”

She swatted at his chest and he grinned.

“Yeah, but I didn’t.”

“Only because I convinced you with my powers of persuasion.”

She scoffed and smacked him again.

“Well,” she said, trace of a smirk forming on her lips. “Good thing you’re hypothetically running away with me.”

“Yeah.” He smiled, smoothing his thumb along her jaw. “Good thing.”

***

In the back of his mind Jeff remembered that they’d agreed not to indulge their feelings until they’d sorted them out, but it was hard to abide by that when her tongue was in his mouth and her body wet and warm against his.

He’d never admit it later but he growled, a little, as he threaded his fingers through her damp hair and deepened the kiss. It wasn’t long before she had her legs wrapped around his waist and, even if he wasn’t in clingy boxer briefs, a certain part of him would’ve made itself known.

They only stopped when she began to shiver, and when they finally pulled themselves apart they saw the sun had nearly set. Annie kissed him sweetly before climbing up the rocks to towel off. Jeff followed once he got his body parts in check.

“I guess we both must have really poor impulse control,” she said, tossing him his jeans.

“Yeah.” He rubbed his jaw. “Something like that.”

“We should still probably talk though, right?”

The hesitance was back in her voice so he smiled reassuringly.

“Right. Good thing we have five to six miles of open trail ahead of us.”

She grinned at him and, as they set off, he waited for the familiar feeling of dread to settle over him -- the one that always arose when he was forced to discuss his feelings -- but it never came.

Keeping his eyes on the path ahead of them, he reached over and took her hand. Annie made a contented sound and swayed their arms between them as they walked.

“You know,” he said. “We could probably have this talk while escaping through the woods while running from the law.”

“Smart thinking.” She tugged on his hand until he looked at her, then flashed him a sly smile. “Because there can’t be any weirdness when we’re sharing the hayloft.”

“Ugh.” Jeff rolled his eyes. “So cheesy.”

“Shut up.” She grinned up at him and bumped his hip with her own.

“And I’ve been meaning to talk to you about the specifics of this hayloft,” he said, ignoring her eyeroll. “Because I’m not hypothetically sleeping on _straw_ , if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Well I suppose you could build us a bed… There are some trees the farmer needs cleared to make a new field, and I bet you could swing an axe -- might as well put those muscles to good use.”

“I’m just going to ignore how alarmingly fast you came up with a scenario that involves me playing Paul Bunyan.” He smirked as she blushed. “But okay, fine. I’ll build us a bed if you find a way to weave us some sheets that are as soft as my 1,500-thread count Egyptian cotton.”

“Deal,” she said. “But in our next hypothetical compromise let’s be less rigid with traditional gender roles. My women’s studies professor would be really disappointed in me.”

“Alright.” He laughed and shook his head. “You’re such a nerd.”

“Well, duh." She grinned and squeezed his hand. "And you can’t fool me -- you love it.”

He smiled back and then turned his face up toward the trees, the last lingering afternoon light sifting in through their leaves. After years of avoidance the forest didn’t seem so bad anymore; not with her. It was a scary thought, but she’d already faced her fears today so now it was his turn.

“Yeah,” he said, brushing his thumb over her knuckles. “I kinda do.”


End file.
